Star of the Circus: Sideshows
by RunFromTheMedic
Summary: Missing scenes and short stories from/based on "Star of the Circus"
1. The Wish

**The Wish**

* * *

 _The most fantastic magical things can happen, and it all starts with a wish._

* * *

Tsuna didn't want to be at school.

He almost never wanted to be at school – he couldn't understand what was going on most of the time and the teachers could be kind of mean – but he _really_ didn't want to be at school today especially.

It was getting closer to summer vacation – they only had about two weeks left – and all the other kids were already grouping up and talking excitedly about what they were going to do, where they were going to go, and who they were going to play with every chance they got.

Staring glumly out the window as the teachers set up the bamboo trees in the courtyard for the festival today, Tsuna mentally went over his own plans for the summer.

Play video games, read manga, stay at home and sleep, probably run errand for Mama… and all by himself.

He loved his Mama, he really did, but he didn't want to spend all summer in the house with her.

Laying his head down on the desk, he turned his attention back to his classmates, listening to them laugh.

He wanted that. Wanted people to talk to and laugh with. Wanted _friends_.

But nobody wanted to be friends with Dame-Tsuna.

It wasn't like he was trying to be Dame; he'd checked out books from the library so he could practice at home and hopefully improve his grades, but the words always seemed to twist together the longer he looked until it was nothing but gibberish. By the time he actually managed to work something out and understand it the class would have moved on and he would be horrible lost again.

He couldn't really do anything about the clumsiness.

So he just gave up.

Tsuna was 'Dame' and would always be 'Dame'. He was going to sit in the back of the room like he always did, ignore his bullies the best he could, and count down the days until summer vacation when he could hole himself up in his house where it was safe.

Where he could pretend he wasn't lonely.

"Alright class! Quiet down!" The sharp rapping of a ruler against a desk had the class quieting down and hurrying back to their seats. Tanaka-sensei eyed them for a moment hefting a stack of paper slips and string a little higher in her arms before smiling.

"As you all know, today is the Tanabata festival." Cheering started up again, and Tanaka-sensei had to whack the ruler against the desk a few more times to quiet everyone down, "The bamboo's already been set up in the court yard. I'm going to hand out the paper for your wishes. Before you leave, be sure you tie them on so your wish comes true!" she chirped.

Handing out the fragile paper, Tanaka-sensei gave them all another bright smile before dismissing them for the day.

Kids immediately grouped together again, frantically scribbling down their wishes, talking to their friends, then erasing what they wrote so that they could write something else. In no time at all the classroom was empty, save for Tsuna who had done his best to sink into his desk, staring blankly at his own paper.

Should he wish for more video games? Biting his lip, Tsuna ran through his mental wish list, scratching off all the things that seemed to unrealistic.

He couldn't have a robot no matter how much he wanted one. That wouldn't fit in his room.

Briefly recalling the girl next to him squealing about wanting a puppy, Tsuna fought back a shiver. He didn't want a dog, but it did give him an idea. Maybe he could wish for his neighbor's dog to stop chasing him?

Five more minutes passed with Tsuna gnawing on the end of his pencil, just staring at the blank page.

"Tsuna." Jerking up with a small scream, Tsuna looked up into the somewhat impatient face of his homeroom teacher.

"Class is over Tsuna. You need to go now."

Babbling apologies, Tsuna hurriedly grabbed his stuff and booked it out of the classroom, slowing down just enough so that he wouldn't dive head first down the stairs.

Finally in the courtyard he stopped in front of one of the many bamboo trees, branches already weighted down with paper and wishes.

He knew the wishes never really came true. He'd been trying for a few years now and he had never gotten his wish.

Deciding it wouldn't matter whatever he wrote Tsuna scribbled down his biggest wish, tying it to one of the free low hanging branches before walking home, shoulders slightly slumped.

He didn't see the way the words thickened, taking on a silvery hue before fading into white, leaving nothing to show that a wish had been written, not even indentations in the paper remained of those four simple words:

" _I want a friend."_


	2. Aftermath

**Aftermath**

* * *

 _Time brought resignation and melancholy sweeter than common joy_

 _-Emily Bronte_

* * *

Eva Anesdottir was old, too old to be standing out in the biting autumn rain that was lashing against the ground in stinging waves and battering against the trailers the rest of the circus was taking refuge in. The cold sank through her skin, through what few muscles she had left, and wrapped around her bones to make them ache.

She paid it little mind, too focused on the scene before her.

It was barely visible through the rain, but Eva could just make out the bent metal and twisted plastic that was all that was left of the tent. And all that was left of her granddaughter.

Pursing already bloodless lip the old fortuneteller willed the ashes – already long washed away – to pull themselves together, for structures to right themselves, and for flames to once again roar to life and spit Leora back out.

She knew it was futile. Wishes were powerful things, but compared to the wish of another she knew hers was merely a drop in a well compared to a churning ocean. That was how it always was.

That didn't stop her from trying.

"You're going to catch your death out here," A voice called out behind her, the smooth baritone lilting in an accent she had never been able to place despite all the years she had known the man, "Can't have your husband trying to kill me more than he already is."

"You deserve it." she snapped back, but without any real heat. The electrical system had degraded faster than is should have, no matter how much they worked to repair it. Even if they _had_ just replaced the whole thing something else would have started the fire, one way or another. White flames were not to be denied when a wish was deemed worthy. Even if the owner of the flames was unaware.

The rain was suddenly blocked, causing Eva to blink dumbly up at the dancing elephant design of the umbrella for a few moments as a blanket was wrapped around her shoulders. The circus master gave her a small smile that didn't do much to change the sadness in his eyes.

"Leora's a strong young woman, Eva. Whomever she's helping, she'll do us proud."

"That doesn't change the fact that I've lost five children now, Philip." Eva shot back even as she slumped in resignation, not bothering to resist as she was steered towards a trailer and helped up the steps.

Her husband was waiting by the door with another blanket and a flask, the glare he pinned her with demanding no argument as she was tucked up on the couch and ordered to drink.

Not having the strength to argue, Eva downed the vodka with the ease of years of practice, sighing in quiet relief as it warmed her bones up some.

Settling down next to her, Viktor switched to glaring at Philip and Yaozu who had taken up residence in the chairs opposite them. Yaozu was glaring right back.

They sat like that for almost an hour, the only sound being the slosh of each person's personal bottle of liquor. Despite the glares, it was a comfortable silence, one only broken when Yaozu put his bottle down on the nearby coffee table with a solid _thunk_.

"I still believe we should have told her."

"Told her what, exactly?" Philip asked as he swirled the remaining contents of his bottle, "That her soul housed the incredibly rare Star Flames? That as soon as a wish was made that said flames agreed with her Flames would latch on and pull her through to another world? She wouldn't have believed us, and it's not like we had any proof to give her. Flames don't exist here."

"Ours do." Viktor rumbled, his accusing glare not letting up in the slightest.

Not bothering to deny it Philip let his hand light up with white flecked orange Flames, spiraling it around his fingers until they resembled candles. He eyed it for a moment, an old longing in his eyes, before letting them snuff out.

"It was better that she didn't know." The circus master told them quietly, sagging back into his chair, "Stars break when they fall, even if only slightly. If we had told her, despite not believing us, she would've been more aware and her flames more active. She'd have been pulled through too early, before she had time to become more than a spark. The Fall would've killed her."

"That doesn't make it hurt any less." Eva whispered softly, leaning into her husband in a rare need for affection. The arm that was placed around her spoke volumes of Viktor's own emotional state, if only the few in the room who'd known him for years.

"No. It doesn't." Philip agreed, the faraway look back in his eyes, "But I'd rather this than have her burn out like my Stella did."

"That wasn't your fault, Philip." Viktor growled, and the circus master sent him a wire smile.

"I know it wasn't, at least not directly, but it was still my wish that made her Fall. Her Flame was too unstable after to be able to reestablish an orbit for long. No matter how much I tried to help." Philip lit up his hands again, staring at the flecks of white Flame that Stella had left in his own when she realized she was going dark, "I may not have killed her but I played a key role in it."

So lost in his own thoughts, he didn't notice the flask before it clocked him firmly between the eyes. Flailing slightly, he caught the nearby curtain on fire with his still Flame covered hands and had to tear them down and stomp on them to keep the trailer from burning down like the Big Top.

"What the hell was that for?" he snapped, jerking around to face a very unimpressed looking Eva.

"Stella's not here to hit you when you need it, so that job falls to me now." Eva snapped right back, "She didn't use the last of her Flames to send us all here just so you could wallow in misery. We _all_ miss her. Do _not_ blame yourself for something you could not control. Stars are what they are, and Stella went through a lot before she managed to find you. There was war, Philip. The damage she had was _not_ because of you and you could not have fixed her Flames even if there _was_ a way for Stars to Harmonize with Skys. Stop beating yourself up for not being able to do what was impossible in the first place."

"Stella sent us here so we could be safe and happy, Philip." Yaozu spoke up then, causing his Sky to whirl around to face him, "Do not go against her wishes."

"We'll keep doing what we have always done since coming here." Eva spoke up again quietly, but with a note of steel running through the words, yellow light dancing in her eyes as the air warmed with the heat of the Flames she could no longer manifest. "We will continue with the Circus, continue helping any Stars we find grow, and continue living the life of peace and safety Stella somehow managed to tear a hole in the universe for us to achieve. We will _live_."

"We've lived almost three hundred years since I made that wish." The circus master reminded them petulantly, but with a small smile inching its way across his face.

"Expect at least a hundred more, Astley." Viktor drawled dryly, "I don't see Stella's Flames running out anytime soon."

"It wasn't her intention to blur the passage of time for us when she was blurring the walls between worlds." Philip shot back as he picked his bottle of whiskey back up.

"Still happened." Viktor grunted, before jerking a thumb in Yaozu's direction, "If _kúkalabbi_ over there wasn't such a good liar we'd have been found out a few centuries ago."

"What did you call me?" the Chinese man hissed, the bottle he had picked back up cracking in his hands as Indigo Flames stared leaking from his eyes.

" _Farðu til helvítis, kúkalabbi."_ Viktor sneered back.

The resulting brawl shook the trailer, and had most of the furniture being smashed to pieces before the two old men were kicked outside to continue their fight in the rain.

Philip or Eva could have stopped them at any time; even in their old age they were more than capable of breaking up a fight on their level. It was just nostalgic to watch them fight. Proof that even though so many years had passed some things would never change from how things were before. Namely, Viktor and Yaozu's intense hatred of each other.

Philip was mostly just glad that the brawls no longer included weapons that were pulled out of varying shades of purple fire.

They were too old for that.


	3. Coffee

**Coffee**

* * *

 _You know how you just wake up some mornings and you feel so refreshed and cheerful, you're like, "I don't even need coffee"? Yeah. Me, either. And I don't trust anyone who says they do. Uncaffeinated freaks._

 _-Nanea Hoffman_

* * *

Waking up had always been hard for Tsuna, even before he was sealed, so it was strange that he was blinking fuzzily at an alarm clock that telling him it was just past four in the morning in cheery red numbers.

Rolling over he buried his head in his pillow, curling into a more comfortable position to go back to sleep, and blearily wondering what could have woken him up this early. The sun wasn't even close to coming up, birds weren't chirping, and he didn't even have school today. He didn't _have_ to wake up if he didn't want to. He hadn't planned on it.

The seal on his flames had cracked after that god awful incident with the assassin, and more of the warmth that he had been lacking was seeping its way into his chest. He was starting to feel warm, completely and utterly warm for the first time in _years_. It was fantastic and he was perfectly willing to lie in bed and bask in it.

It was better when he napped with his friends in all honesty, the warmth. The curl of Kyouya's flames – though the older boy still scared the crap out of him on occasion – settled something in him that he didn't realize was frantic if he was nearby. He didn't get to nap near him very often, kind of a given with his personality, but the odd time he had had his trapped flames almost purring.

Snuggling down deeper into the bedding with a content sigh, Tsuna let what little flame he had access to reach out to curl around his best friend in a now instinctive action, his sleep addled brain wanting to indulge in the assurance her presence gave him before falling completely asleep. Leora was sleeping over a lot more since his seal cracked, both to keep an eye on him and to help chip away at the seal in a way that didn't end with him in the hospital, and had pretty much resigned herself to sharing a bed with him since he'd end up sleeping next to her either way.

Mama, thankfully, thought it was cute that he was such good friends with the Italian that she didn't raise a fuss about Tsuna sharing a bed with a girl.

His best friend had pointed out that they were _kids_ , so of course it wouldn't be an issue. She still wasn't very happy to be used as a teddy bear, which while mildly embarrassing was a guaranteed way to feel safe for Tsuna.

His Intuition – which was what Leora was calling that weird feeling that was basically a voice in his head – was of the firm opinion that Leora needed to stay close, and Tsuna completely agreed with it. As a result, Leora was camped out at his house five days a week and usually within arm's reach.

Which was why it was such a nasty shock to find the bed next to him empty.

Sitting bolt upright, Tsuna flung out a hand to frantically pat at the empty sheets – _still warm_ , his Intuition pointed out, _not gone long_ – as if that would make her reappear.

Well, now he knew why he woke up.

Flinging the covers off with a scowl, Tsuna padded as quietly as he could out of his room so as not to wake his Mama in his search of his friend.

He found her in the kitchen, curly hair sticking up on one side which made her look weird in the dark, and staring at the small cup shaped pot she had brought over yesterday.

The kitchen smelled like coffee.

"Morning." Leora grunted out, not bothering to look his way. She just kept staring at the stove.

"Don't you mean 'Good Morning'?" he asked, but the question was kind of ruined by a yawn and how grouchy his own voice sounded. He didn't _want_ to be awake.

"I'm awake and talking. You're not going to get a 'good' out of me until I drink at least three of that." A jerk of her head indicated the stove and the now boiling pot.

Flopping into one of the kitchen chair's so he could lay his head down on the table, Tsuna sent his friend a questioning look that he _knew_ she could see despite her eyes being still trained on the bubbling pot. Sighing, he decided to use words.

"Why are you awake?"

"Always up by now."

"It's _four_ in the _morning_."

"My statement still stands."

"What the fuck for?" Biting his tongue, Tsuna flinched and glanced around warily for his Mama or even a teacher to pop up. Leora cursed a lot, and he was starting to slip curses of his own in without meaning to. He'd gotten into trouble twice now because of it. The face his homeroom teacher made had been hilarious though.

"I have shit to do."

"At _four in the morning_?" Tsuna asked incredulously.

"When else did you think acrobats worked out?"

"Not at four in the morning!"

"It's almost four thirty." Leora countered, giving him a flat look. "Why are you awake anyway? You're always asleep when I get up."

Tsuna managed to keep a straight face, but was considerably grateful for the dark that hid how badly he was blushing, "I noticed you weren't there."

Leora grunted in reply as her attention went back to the stove. She deemed the pot done and was focused solely on turning off the stove and pouring the frothy liquid into one of the cups she brought with the pot. After a moment's hesitation, she poured another cup and set it down in front of Tsuna.

Sitting down across from him, Leora hunched over her own cup and just inhaled the steam for a minute or two before she started to sip at it.

After another minute of just watching her, Tsuna took a sip of his own.

He was half tempted to spit it back out.

It tasted _awful_. It was bitter, made his eyes water, and had what felt like sand floating through it. It smelled like coffee, but Tsuna was pretty sure that coffee wasn't supposed to be gritty. And Leora had just finished hers, rinsed out her cup, and poured herself another.

"Leora…what is this?" Tsuna asked after another disgusting sip.

"Coffee."

"It's gritty."

"Turkish coffee."

"That… doesn't mean anything to me."

"Explain later. Caffeine. Drink now." And Leora went right back to draining her cup. Unsure if she was ordering him to drink or merely talking about herself, Tsuna decided not to risk it. Leora had the same look Hibari had when he was sleep deprived, and that usually ended up in grievous bodily harm. For him.

As he sipped at his Turkish coffee, he tentatively decided that it didn't taste that bad the longer you drunk it. It was still horribly bitter and could use some sugar, but he could probably get used to drinking it if he had too.

* * *

It wasn't until roughly a month later that Tsuna realized that he was about as addicted to caffeine as Leora was.

He blamed her for that. He wouldn't have kept waking up at four in the _goddamn morning_ to exercise or drink coffee if it wasn't her influence. At least he liked coffee now.

Turkish coffee had quickly become a favorite of his, but he made sure to only drink it once a week or so. Delicious it may have become, but he was still sure it was capable of stripping his stomach lining with how strong Leora liked to brew it.

(You weren't even supposed to drink it first thing in the morning apparently – it was more of a after dinner kind of drink – and Leora was only doing it because she wanted more of a caffeine fix which she couldn't get from the tea his Mama liked to buy. Powdering the coffee beans she brought along didn't take that long, and she was more than happy enough to ignore a cultural thing if it meant keeping her awake during school. If she fell asleep in class again she would be suspended.)

His best friend didn't agree with his very legitimate worry for their stomach lining despite the fact that his Intuition was telling him expresso would be better, but started cutting back a bit after Tsuna managed to convince Mama to buy an expresso machine. Learning how to work it was annoying, but he wasn't half bad at making them after some practice.

Either way the both of them got their caffeine fix, saved their stomach linings, and his Intuition stopped nudging him every day to buy the damn machine.

It was a win-win.

* * *

 **Yes I know I'm getting ahead of myself and the main story. But these are shorter to write and exams are next week.**


	4. Tattoos

**Tattoos**

* * *

 _Tattoos have a power and magic all their own. They decorate the body but they also enhance the soul._

 _-Michelle Delio_

* * *

Tsuna first started noticing them not long after Leora gave him one of his first official gymnastics lessons. The two of them were balancing on the edge of the sandbox. She was facing him with her hands outstretched to catch him when he spotted the delicate ink of a flock of birds peeking out from under the over-sized watch and thick rope bracelet she always wore.

They curved in an arc, stopping just before they reached the palm of her hand near her thumb, like they could keep spiraling up and off her fingers until they were free.

They had captivated him, the way such simple little drawings looked so free, and at the same time, they confused him.

What nine year old had tattoos? How did she get them?

But Leora didn't mention them, and he quickly forgot as he lost his balance again.

* * *

The next time he noticed, they were doing their homework.

Leora had flopped over on the floor, mumbling under her breath how stupid everything was, and occasionally nudging him in the leg with a foot as he laughed. It was then his eyes zeroed in on the collection of tiny dots spreading across the top of her foot and over her ankle.

They weren't much – easily dismissed as moles – but they seemed a little too round, too dark, too similar. Leora either didn't notice, or didn't care, that he spent the rest of their homework time staring at her foot and trying to find the patterns.

It had taken him nearly a week and a trip to the library to realize the dots were supposed to represent stars.

When he had raised the courage to ask, she had told him they were constellations, and had happily pointed out which one was which on her feet before moving on to the ones on her legs that he hadn't even noticed. When she realized he was having trouble seeing the designs the dots made up, she had grabbed a pen and connected them for him.

Her favorite was the lyra just above her left knee.

* * *

The next time he saw one, they were practicing cartwheels.

Well…they were _supposed_ to be practicing cartwheels. They had been teasing each other back and forth, Leora snapping out sarcastic encouragements here and there – with how she was smirking the words would've hurt if her eyes hadn't been so warm – before one thing led to another, and he had challenged her to a cartwheel race around the park.

Oh, he knew he had no chance in hell of winning and Leora knew it too, but he did his best before he ended up in a dizzy, laughing heap on the ground.

As Leora had tumbled past him for another lap her shirt had fallen down – or up, it was hard to tell when she was upside down half the time – and he saw a flash of color on her lower back.

He didn't get a good look at it until a few days later when she decided she would ignore her feet for the day and walk on her hands the entire time she was visiting.

Two fish – koi fish he found out after another trip to the library – one a dark blue and the other burnt orange. They reminded him more of ribbons than fish with the way their tails curled after them in a circle no bigger than his fist.

When he had asked her about that one, she gave him one of her small smiles and said: _A reminder to stay balanced, Tsuna. I'd be shit out of luck if I ever forgot._

He could understand that. He forgot things a lot too, and reminders always helped.

* * *

The next – and last – tattoo he noticed was a few days before his birthday.

Leora was once again sprawled across his bedroom floor when he noticed the lines across the back of her neck.

It was hardly noticeable, and he had to squint to properly see it, but it was there. This one was made up of white, almost silvery thin lines that looked like scars against her tanned skin, twisted together to look like a real candle flame.

It looked like a fancier version of the design she had on her locket.

Tsuna regretted asking about that one almost immediately after the words left his mouth, because she had frozen, tensing like he still being tormented by bullies, before brushing her fingers over the design like she was afraid it wouldn't be there.

 _This one is the most important,_ she told him, hand clenched around the locket as her eyes got that unfocused look, making his skin practically _crawl_ with anxiety, _this one… means home. It reminds me of home._

They had stayed like that for almost an hour, Leora staring off into space. He stared at his feet before he blurted out the question that had been floating around his head for a few weeks now.

"Can I get a tattoo?"

Leora had blinked at him, startled, and the emotion he couldn't name disappeared from her eyes as her eyebrows rose towards her hairline.

"They don't come off. You know that, right?"

"I know."

She stared at him for a moment, head tilted, before nodding.

"Alright. It shouldn't be that hard to find a parlor that won't care about your age. We can get it for your birthday this weekend." She sent him a pointed glare when he started smiling. "I get veto rights. You're not getting a robot."

He ended up just letting Leora put together a few choices so he could pick which one he liked the best. She had looked at him with exasperation when he chose the symbol for harmony - which he didn't really understand, what was wrong with it? - but he still got the curving symbol tattooed on his left wrist, like where Leora had the birds on hers.

Staring down at the bandage in satisfaction, Tsuna decided he liked this. The pain was annoying, but he'd had worse, and the black design more than made up for it. He had also really liked the watercolor flaming out in the shape of a feather he saw in the design book. He would have to be careful so no one found out he had them, but if he wore long sleeves, he could get another on his forearm.

He would have to wait a while before he could get another one – maybe a year, tattoos were _expensive_ and he needed to start saving up – but he was definitely going to do this again.

* * *

 **I know this is a little early to be posting them, this wouldn't happen for a few more months yet in the main story, but I figured I'd give you guys something since it'll still be a while before I can update Star of the Circus. I posted the link for Tsuna's tattoo on my profile for anyone who's interested. Thank you to the beta-reader Pure Red Crane for proofreading this chapter.**


	5. Sleepwalking

**Sleepwalking**

* * *

 _If you are persistent, you will get it. If you are consistent, you will keep it._

* * *

"Are you sure you want to sleep on the floor?" Tsuna asked for the third time, fretfully twisting his blanket between his hands as he watched Leora set up a futon on the other side of the room. For the third time, Leora waved him off.

"Yes, I'm sure. And you can stop asking, because my answer isn't going to change in the five minutes it takes me to finish this and get comfortable enough to sleep."

"But you're a _guest_ ," Tsuna argued, "You shouldn't sleep on the floor."

"I sleep on the floor of my apartment. How is this any different?"

"It just is!" Tsuna shrieked, flailing his arms around even as he winced at the volume of his own voice. Leora send him a pointed look.

"Stop yelling if your head still hurts." She admonished as she finished spreading out the top part of her futon. Nodding in satisfaction, the carney made quick work of crawling under the covers and nuzzling her head against the pillow.

This futon was so much nicer than the threadbare one she had back at her place. It was thick enough that she couldn't really feel the floor through it, _and_ she had an actual pillow. It couldn't beat an actual bed, but it was still leagues above what she had.

As if reading her thoughts, Tsuna tried again to get her off the floor.

"We can just share like we did yesterday," he offered, hugging his pillow to his chest and giving her puppy eyes. The carney rolled over so her back was to the brunet.

"Yesterday I woke up with you wrapped around my legs like I was your favorite stuffed animal," she shot back, ignoring the embarrassed squawking coming from behind her, "I'm fine over here."

"If you're sure…" was mumbled petulantly, shortly followed by the sounds of someone shifting around in bed. Satisfied that the matter was resolved, Leora settled down for a nap.

* * *

Eyes snapping open, Leora stared at the wall in front of her, wondering what exactly woke her up. It was still day time, the curtain only blocked so much sunlight, and the shadow of leaves from the open window were waving lazily against the wall and floor.

Rustling fabric and the shuffle of bare feet against the floor had her running a hand over her face. Of course it was Tsuna. _Everything_ recently seemed to happen because of Tsuna.

Rolling over the carney carefully arranged her face so it wouldn't look as dead as she felt, not wanting to intimidate the easily startled boy for no reason.

"Is something wrong Tsu-" snapping her mouth shut Leora stared, dumbfounded, at the brunet slowly making his way towards her.

A brunet who was also very fucking obviously _asleep_.

His eyes were closed, eyebrows furrowed slightly to match his frown as he mechanically inched his way in her general direction.

Well… this was… something. The details weren't that clear from the manga, but she was _pretty_ sure that Tsuna didn't have a sleepwalking problem. Running around in his boxers yes, but sleepwalking hadn't ever been mentioned.

Maybe it was just a childhood thing? It's not like the manga or anime covered anything about his childhood other than the sealing and bullying. Maybe he grew out of it by the time Reborn showed up?

When he showed no signs of stopping Leora rolled out of the way, just in time for Tsuna to trip on the edge of the futon and land in the spot she had just vacated. Burrowing down into the warm spot she had left behind, he rolled over and started wiggling around to get comfortable.

Still dead asleep.

Leora felt like laughing. Or banging her head against a wall. She settled for rubbing at the building headache in her right temple.

"Fine. You win. I'll take the damn bed."

Climbing into Tsuna's vacated bed she flopped down, pulling the discarded blanket up off the floor to wrap around her small shoulders, fully intent on finishing her nap. Not two minutes later she heard Tsuna moving around again.

Cracking open one coffee colored eye, she watched as Tsuna rolled around with a frown on his face, smooshed his face into a pillow unhappily, then start to get up again. Both eyes fully opened now, Leora watched with detached interest as Tsuna started a slow shuffle back towards the bed.

"You offered the bed, no take backs." Leora called out, pushing herself into a sitting position. Tsuna didn't react, just kept up his insensible bee-line for the bed.

Chalking it up to not worth the effort of arguing with a person completely dead to the world, Leora got out of the bed so Tsuna would be able to shuffle past her and flop back into his previous spot.

Moving past the sleepwalker, the carney made to head back to her futon and would have, if Tsuna hadn't paused and then _changed directions_ to follow her.

Blinking, and not really believing was she was seeing, Leora moved in another direction fully expecting Tsuna to just walk right by her. Except he didn't.

Moving in a circle around the table in the middle of the room, Leora's disbelief grew as the boy _kept following her_.

"What the fuck? Is this some anime bullshit I'm not aware of?" Leora exclaimed, getting increasingly agitated the longer Tsuna followed her around the room. "How are you even _doing_ this? Your intuition is supposed to be sealed with your flames!"

Tsuna didn't reply, just continued to follow her around like a puppy, his frown getting continuously more pronounced the longer Leora dodged his increasingly faster attempts to catch up to her. Vaulting the low table they were playing poker at not an hour ago, Leora choked down the irrational _fearpanicdesperationnonono_ that threatened to drown her after the third lap around the room, and tried to calm down and think.

Eyes landing on the open window, the carney decide to screw calm and dove through it, nearly taking the curtains with her. Latching onto the nearest extended branch of the tree before she plummeted, Leora hauled herself up then crab walked to the trunk, plastering herself against it.

Sucking in a breath Leora counted to ten, then blew it out. Repeating the process a few more times her heartrate started to drop down to something normal, and she was able to release the death grip she had on the bark.

Shuffling at the window damn near had her crushing the branch. Jerking her head up, Leora stared hard at the little boy bumping into the window ledge and scowling down at it with a surprisingly evil look for a kid who looked like a rabbit most of the time.

"Go back to bed Tsuna." Leora called, trying to _end_ this weird Twilight Zone moment and get things back to normal. Or at least what's normal for a goddamn anime. "You can have the bed _and_ the futon. I'm sleeping in the tree."

In hindsight that was a stupid thing to say. The brunet could obviously understand what she was saying even if he wasn't acting like he would if he was conscious, and he didn't seem to like her decision. His sleeping face scrunched up in determination, and then he set about trying to haul himself onto the window ledge. With a lack of anything not lethal to throw, Leora ripped off a decent sized branch and threw it at him.

The branch hit him squarely in the chest and knocked him back into the room and out of sight.

"Stay, damnit. You're going to get yourself killed." Leora hollered through the open window, hoping the words would penetrate his sleep addled brain and he would actually _listen_. Not a minute later Tsuna was back at the window and trying to crawl out of it. Leora chucked another branch.

Leora didn't know how long this went on for, but eventually she was out of branches immediately at hand that she could use and the little idiot was _still trying to climb out of the window_. As a last ditch effort to keep him from killing himself Leora launched herself, tackling him back through the window and twisting at the last second so he landed on her and not make his head injury any worse.

The landing knocked the breath out of her, and all the branches she had thrown dug painfully into her back as the two's combined weight crushed them. Tsuna didn't seem to notice the landing; he immediately latched onto the curly-haired girl the second she was in arms reach and buried his face in the crook of her neck with a happy hum, scowl melting away into a content smile as he finally settled down to sleep.

Leora ran through every curse she knew as she got her breath back and not all in the same language. When prying off the little leech proved ineffective, Leora tried to drag them both back to the futon so they would at least be off the floor, but her hands and feet kept sliding on the numerous leaves, twigs, and branches she'd used during her bombardment.

Making a strangled sound not un-similar to that of a dying cat, Leora finally gave up, squashing her growing hysteria and glaring at the spikes of brown hair obscuring her vision.

"I hate you." She hissed. Tsuna just snuggled closer if that was possible, giving off another happy hum as he wedged his head more firmly against her neck.


	6. Phone Calls

**Phone Calls**

* * *

 _One phone call: I realized it was as simple as that. People wonder how they are ever going to change their lives, but really it's frighteningly easy._

 _Chris Cleave_

* * *

Fon didn't get phone calls very often. Phones could be traced after all, and in his profession that was never a good thing, even with his title of World's Greatest.

He did keep a personal phone so his sister could get in touch with him if necessary, but she understood that calling him should only happen if absolutely necessary and for something very important.

So, he had to admit to a sliver of trepidation when he say his sisters' caller ID.

"Mingxia?"

" _Big Brother!"_ Mingxia exclaimed excitedly, and Fon let himself relax, " _Kyouya made a friend!"_

Fon blinked.

"Really?"

" _Yes!"_ Mingxia all but squealed, rambling on about how this new friend of his nephews wasn't afraid of him, wasn't another of his cousins, and how Kyouya had been going out more, looking happier, and how she was still trying to convince Kyouya to invite his friend over so that she could meet them.

Fon hadn't heard her _this_ excited since they were young children.

Happy, for both his nephew and his sister, he settled down to talk and ask more questions.

He'd finished the job early, so the Triads wouldn't be looking for him just yet.

This place was safe enough.

000

Mingxia had started calling often, not wanting Fon to miss a moment of his nephews' life with the friends he was only now starting to make. Fon had been surprised to learn Kyouya's friend had been a little girl of all things, a few years younger and family only just moving to Japan. He assumed most small children, younger girls especially, would have been intimidated.

According to Mingxia, she wasn't intimidated. She was more annoyed and resigned to Kyouya's more violent streak and was perfectly capable of giving back as good as she got. She had also introduced her other friend to Kyouya as well, a boy this time, and they would regularly get together to play before and after school. Mingxia had sent him pictures of the black eye and bruised ribs Kyouya had gotten to prove it, the boy smiling smugly that his friend wasn't an _herbivore_.

Fon really shouldn't have let Kyouya watch those nature documentaries the one time he babysat.

Kyouya's friend didn't seem to mind too much the animal kingdom hierarchy the boy preferred. The boy was hesitant around Kyouya, but didn't seem to mind his more violent tendencies too much which officially extended Kyouya's circle of friends to two.

Mingxia had been ecstatic when she had finally been introduced to them, more so once she realized that Kyouya was jealous that the little girl wasn't spending as much time with him as she was with her other friend.

Mingxia had started making wedding plans that night. This girl, whatever her name was, was solely being referred to as future daughter-in-law whenever his sister referred to her to the point Fon didn't even know her name.

It wasn't official at the moment. They were still children after all, and Mingxia and Ryouta would have to talk to the girls' parents and get approval to make an engagement official. The girls' parents apparently traveled for work so they were difficult to get a hold of.

The girl also seemed suspicious of Mingxia's motives and wouldn't give out their phone numbers.

Fon approved of her suspicion. His sister could be quite devious when she wanted to be.

Humming in amusement as his phone went off only a few hours after the last phone call, Fon answered, fully expecting to hear his sisters excited babbling about the birthday party and more chaos in the back ground.

Five minutes later he hung up, face still serene but hands putting cracks in the plastic covering.

He was going to have to rework his schedule a bit, Fon mused. He was originally going to finish this current job subtly, take a week or so, but with current events he was just going to murder them all whole sale to save some time. The Triads will have to take care of covering up the mess.

Sending a quick text to Viper Fon put the phone back in his pocket before he gave into the urge to crush it.

He wasn't sure how long this would take, but he needed a way to communicate with his sister and the time it would take to get another phone couldn't be spared.

He would also need it so he could transfer money to Viper for the delay. The Mist may be babysitting I-pin for him due to a favor, but any extended amount of time he would be gone would cost him.

It was just another reason to kill the ones who kidnapped his nephew.


End file.
